VCR Buying Guide (S-VHS, D-VHS, Professional)

[lordsmurf]

This is originally a post that I wrote up over at videohelp.com, but the new "official version" shall remain here. The guide on the other site will be updated from time to time to reflect this post, instead of the other way around. As of Sept 2009.
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By using a good VCR, you can get more quality out of those VHS tapes, before forever committing what you see to a DVD.These machines listed below all have some degree of noise reduction, or otherwise play a tape cleanly. These are PROSUMER or PROFESSIONAL video machines, not something found at Best Buy or Walmart. Timebase correctors (TBCs) almost always exist in these. The most popular and well respected machines are in bold.

JVC S-VHS (NTSC) prosumer decks. JVC's high-end decks have CALIBRATION (finds best part of tape to play) and picture mode filters (AUTO, NORM, SHARP, EDIT). The 7000-series has 2MB TBC RAM, 9000-series has 4MB and uses the Dynamic Drum system.

• JVC HR-S5000U (no TBC, older)
• JVC HR-S5800U (no TBC, older)
• JVC HR-S6800U (no TBC, older)
• JVC HR-S7500U
• JVC HR-S7600U
• JVC HR-S7800U
• JVC HR-S7900U
• JVC HR-S9500U
• JVC HR-S9600U
• JVC HR-S9800U a.k.a GoVideo SDV-650 clone
• JVC HR-S9900U
• JVC HR-S9911U

JVC S-VHS (PAL) decks, prosumer, same features as NTSC machines listed above.

• JVC HR-S7965EK
• JVC HR-S8965EK

JVC Professional S-VHS (NTSC) decks, continuation of the 7000 prosumer series

• JVC SR-V10U
• JVC SR-V101US / SR-V101U
• JVC SR-W5U
• JVC SR-W7U

JVC Professional S-VHS (PAL) decks, same as above NTSC decks

• JVC SR-V10E

JVC D-VHS decks, which has a lot of the same features as the prosumer S-VHS line, but also has an added ability to cure VHS flagging, much like the Panasonic DMR-ES10 DVD recorder does on pass-through.

• HM-DH30000U
• HM-DH40000U
• JVC HM-DH5U

Mitsibishi D-VHS decks, which has all the TBC, DNR, Calibration, Picture Modes and 3D Y-C filters seen on the top recommended JVC S-VHS and D-VHS models

• Mitsubishi HS-HD2000U D-VHS

Panasonic S-VHS (NTSC) professional editing decks, with full-field (multi-line) TBCs instead of a standard line TBC. The Panasonic Picture Control slider on the 1970/1980 is a variable version of the JVC Picture Control selections (by default, it tends to already sharpen a little at the "normal" notch setting)

• Panasonic AG-7650
• Panasonic AG-1960P (has no TBC)
• Panasonic AG-1970P
• Panasonic AG-1980P a.k.a. Panasonic NV-FS 200 for PAL version

Panasonic S-VHS (PAL) models with TBC and DNR (in order from oldest to the last model built):

• Panasonic NV-FS 200 a.k.a. Panasonic AG-1980P for NTSC version
• Panasonic NV-HS 950
• Panasonic NV-HS 860
• Panasonic NV-HS 930
• Panasonic NV-HS 960
• Panasonic NV-SV 121

Feel free to add to this post by replying below. You may also reply to the thread over at VideoHelp.com in the RESTORATION forum.